Minist(o)ries: Packing the Love

Throughout the month of May, Beautiful Mess Ministries hosted 9 different worship nights and concerts throughout the Northeast as part of a spring tour. Below, read a “mini-story” highlighting one of the ministries (minist(o)ries) that Beautiful Mess had the opportunity to partner with.

Through providing worship, BMM had the honor to be a part of the launch night for a new local ministry in New London, Connecticut.

Salt and Light Backpack Project is a new ministry that was born to be a resource to community members who are in transition or may be coming out of programs, rehabs or jail. Backpacks are filled with some essential items like hygiene products, a bible, and resources to help get people plugged into the community – and pointed in the right direction if they need help finding food pantries, clothing, local shelters, etc. – and then the backpacks are distributed to individuals in need, one of the ministry launchers, David Brown shared.

Although the backpacks are made to help people get started out and to help churches and other local resources be able to provide some supplies to people in transition, David said the ministry about much more than a backpack. It’s about satisfying a deeper, less tangible, need.

“Really, it’s more about just letting them know somebody cares,” David said. He said it’s less about the stuff that goes into the bag, and really the goal and hope is that whoever receives one, even though they might feel as though they are at their “lowest,” feels like “somebody really cares.”

Beautiful Mess Ministries had the privilege of partnering with this new ministry as it officially launched the project and held a fundraiser.

The evening included information about the backpack project and the ministry leaders’ hopes for impacting the people in the community, as well as ways for people to partner with the mission to:

Give away backpacks with essential supplies – also including socks and bus passes.

Provide resources to facilities and information on how to obtain an ID or cell phone

Connect with people by building true relationships through the distribution process

“We want to walk with whoever is receiving the bags,” David said, adding that they want to personally distribute the backpacks and hope it builds relationships so they can walk through the transition process with whoever is receiving a bag.

David said the worship night was “great” and that his whole team really enjoyed partnering with Beautiful Mess Ministries.

“There’s just something different about the Beautiful mess team, you know? It almost felt like family, there was a bond like family,” David said.

“Everybody that was here, they enjoyed it,” David said, adding that they were also able to raise some funds for their ministry, which was a nice bonus.

About $450 was raised at the event, and each backpack itself, before it is filled with items, costs roughly $5.

“The Holy Spirit was really present there,” Tim said, “There’s such a need in that area and to bring the presence of God to that community is really powerful to see. We love worshipping in dark places because as Jesus says, ‘a doctor heals the sick, not the healthy,’ and we love to see communities being built up and that’s what is happening with David’s ministry.”

For those who would like to learn more, or may be interested in donating, visit the Backpack Project’s website at: cityserveect.net/backpacks